The Unification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Об'єднавчий собор українських православних церков, lit.

'Unity Sobor of Ukrainian (Eastern) Orthodox Churches') is a council which was held on 15 December 2018 in the St Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv.

The council voted to unite the existing Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox churches (the UOC-KP, the UAOC and parts of the UOC-MP) through their representatives, on the basis of complete canonical independence.

[17] In October 2009 Bishop Makariy (Maletych) formulated the idea of a single local Ukrainian church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate's jurisdiction, which would be the result of the union between the UAOC and the UOC-KP.

[18] Patriarch Filaret, the head of the UOC-KP, expressed support for the idea of a united autocephalous Ukrainian church in October 2011.

[35] It was believed that a united Ukrainian church was a compulsory step before Ukraine could be granted the Tomos (formal decree) of autocephaly from the Patriarch of Constantinople.

[47][48] The 11 October 2018 decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was viewed as a key step towards those two organizations merging into a single church independent from Moscow.

[55] On 27 October Makariy told Zik TV he would not nominate his candidacy during the future council and would instead "support the one to be offered by the Ecumenical Patriarch".

[59][60] On 3 November 2018, Ukrainian President Poroshenko, in visit in Turkey, signed a cooperation agreement with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

[66][67][68] On 10 November, the website Vesti-Ukr allegedly revealed the heads of the UAOC and the UOC-KP, respectively Makariy and Filaret, had individually sent a letter to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Makariy declared the same thing as in his interview to Zik TV: that he would not run for the position of head of the united Ukrainian Orthodox church.

It was assumed that the voting of the hierarchs of the UOC-MP at the planned Council of the "Orthodox Local Church of Ukraine" will be carried out in a similar way (by the letter of attorney).

Allegedly, still according to GolosUA, the unification council would take place on 22 November 2018 and at that time the statute of the united Orthodox church of Ukraine and the text of the Tomos on autocephaly would be ready.

[93][94][95] The publication Levyy Bereg cited sources of ecclesiastical circles saying that the probable date of the unification council would be on December 9–10.

He said that at the unification council "the primate of this [united Ukrainian] Church will be elected, and he will go to Istanbul to receive [the Tomos]", he added that the arrival of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Kyiv was "not scheduled.

[120] On 17 November, in a sermon, Metropolitan Simeon clarified that his refusal was his own decision, because, he stated, "not a single bishop represented the opinion of his eparchy or people at the Council, everyone spoke for themselves".

"[122][123][124] On 16 November 2018 Metropolitan Sophroniy (Dmitruk) [uk] of Cherkasy and Kaniv in his interview to BBC expressed his support for the creation of an autocephalous Church in Ukraine.

[125][126] On 20 November 2018, chancellor of the UOC-MP, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, declared in an interview that "[s]anctions will be applied to the members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church [of the Moscow Patriarchate] who participate in the 'Unification Council'".

In the letter to Onuphriy, the Ecumenical Patriarchate declared it still allowed him to be bishop "in a form of oikonomia and condescension" but that if he refused to take part in the unification council he would cease to be the Metropolitan of Kyiv.

[40] On 6 December 2018, the press secretary of the UOC-KP, Archbishop Yevstratiy Zorya [uk], in response to the allegations of a religious expert who claimed that Filaret Denisenko would not run for the post of primate of the unified Ukrainian church, wrote on his Facebook page that on 19 November Filaret had already expressed his official position.

The communiqué also mentioned the UOC-KP would elect its candidate for the post of primate of the united Ukrainian church on 13 December 2018, two days before the unification council; the communiqué also mentioned that considering all the circumstances, the UOC-KP "is ready, if necessary, to postpone for some time the request to recognize it in a dignity of patriarchate, retaining that name within its boundaries and for domestic use".

[157][158][159][160] The UOC-KP synod's last two demands – that the voters of the unification council be only bishops, and that the vote to elect the new church's primate be open (not secret) – were contrary to those previously specified by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in its letter.

[169][170][171] The same day, the press secretary of the UOC-KP, Zorya, issued an official communiqué which states that "[t]he fact that the Kyiv Patriarchate has proposals as for the procedure of the Council or the election of the church's head does not mean that a common vision will not be agreed in the end".

[179][180][181][182][183] On 12 December, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France [fr] of the Ecumenical Patriarchate arrived in Kyiv to prepare the unification council.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate demanded that Metropolitan Simeon be elected by the council, and asked President Poroshenko to make pressure on the voters in order for Met.

"[210] On 18 December, metropolitan Mykhayil (Zinkevych) [uk], of the now dissolved UOC-KP, declared in a press conference that he had been forced by Filaret to withdraw his candidacy from the unification council.

[211][212] On 16 December, a similar account had been given by a member of the diocese of Mykhail, deputy Mykola Buliga, who participated in the unification council as a laity.

[231] According to archbishop Eustratius (Zorya) [uk] who was part of the UOC-KP, the charter of the united church was adopted with an overwhelming majority (only one voter was against).

[245] After the liturgy, he was acclaimed by the hierarchs of the church as "great vladyka and father Filaret, the holiest patriarch of Kyiv and all Ukraine-Rus and sacred archimandrite of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra".

[248][249][250] On 20 January 2019, Filaret declared concerning Epiphany: "I supported him and fought for his candidacy, because among all the young bishops I see him as the most worthy to be the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.